Friday, August 8, 2008

South Ossetians retake capital

This just in from Interfax (via Press TV):

South Ossetian separatists say they are in complete control of the capital Tskhinvali more than 24 hours into a major Georgian military offensive.

The statement was made by South Ossetian spokeswoman, Irina Gagloyeva on Friday, the Interfax news agency reported.

"The entire city of Tskhinvali is currently controlled by units of South Ossetia's defense forces... The Georgian side is trying to regain control of southern suburbs of Tskhinvali", Gagloyeva said.

On Friday, Georgian authorities and South Ossetian rebels gave conflicting claims of full control of the capital amid the heavy Georgian bombardment which has so far killed at least 10 Russian peacekeepers.